SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 28-year-old Yellowknife man will pay a $1,500 fine and won't be permitted to drive for 15 months after he pleaded guilty Monday to impaired driving.

A municipal enforcement officer pulled over the first-time offender while he was driving 106 km/h in a 70 km/h zone along Highway 3 on Oct. 2.

Crown prosecutor Glen Boyd said the man admitted to consuming alcohol half an hour before driving and had more than the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.

"He was speeding close to 40 km over the speed limit," said Boyd.

The man represented himself in territorial court, saying he "understood the seriousness of the charges" and he wasn't about to argue with the facts.

He told the court he lost his job because of the incident but had recently completed his high school education and hoped to become an emergency medical responder.

"I've tried to do things more wholesome other than drinking and partying," he said. "I'm outright embarrassed. I'm not sure there's anything else I can say."

Judge Christine Gagnon said, "A clear message needs to be sent to everyone in the community that impaired driving is a serious issue," she said.

Too many ciscoes

Three fisherman went home empty handed after an Oct. 18 fishing expedition, but not because they didn't catch anything.

A fisheries officers stopped the men to do a random compliance check after they had been fishing on the Yellowknife River. The officer seized the catch after finding 1,357 ciscoes in their cooler - 852 over the limit for three people.

"Collectively, they had enough fish to fill more than six quotas," said Crown prosecutor Glen Boyd.

The three co-accused were representing themselves and pleaded guilty to violations under the Fisheries Act in territorial court Tuesday.

"We'd like to apologize for our mistake," said one of the men.

Judge Christine Gagnon fined the men $300 each and said the money will go toward the Fly Kid Foundation of Yellowknife, an organization that teaches kids about the environment and fish conservation.

Man pays hefty price for bottle of vodka

Judge Christine Gagnon fined a man $400 for trying to walk away from the downtown liquor store with a 750 ml bottle of Smirnoff vodka that he did not pay for.

"Perhaps the individual will learn from the experience that it's much easier to purchase the alcohol," she said.

The man pleaded guilty to theft in territorial court Tuesday in relation to an Oct. 1 incident.

"I would like to apologize for my behaviour," he told the court.

Crown prosecutor Glen Boyd told the court police were called to the business where a man was detained in the manager's officer.

Staff had apprehended him after he tried to scratch the label off the bottle before leaving the store.

Defence lawyer Peter Fuglsang argued the man struggled with alcoholism, which accounted for his actions.